Black Desert / White Desert
Trip Start
Mar 14, 2009
1
81
214
Trip End
Ongoing
Bawiti, Egypt
Monday, August 17, 2009
From there we set off into Sahara Suda (Black Desert) formed by the erosion of the mountains which have spread a layer of black powder over the ground.
Here we climbed up Gebel Az-Zuqaq, a mountain known for its red, yellow and orange streaks. From the top we surveyed to the horizon the beauty of the Black Desert.
From here a driver got a bit creative with his driving, you know you are going to have a good time when the driver enjoys what he is doing. Up and over sand dunes just for the thrill of hearing peoples squeals. The drivers claims to never have rolled it, a hard thing to believe, but were relieved on this occasion that he didn't prove us right. But we know for sure he has definitely been stuck, at least once that we know of. As we were stuck on a 45º angle, while they tried to dig us out for 20 minutes. All in all a great driver.
After a dip in a cold spring full of local children, we dined rather impressively, well with our deprived taste buds, on a simple lunch of tinned tuna salads, cheeses, dips, chips and drinks.
With our bellies full we made our way further south into the Great Sahra al-Beida (White Desert), for a bit more off road driving. Our first stop was crystal mountain, a hill made entirely of quartz, nothing special.
On first entering the white desert, we were slightly disappointed. The sand wasn't really all that white, in our opinions. With everyone saying how beautiful the white desert is we were expecting more. However the white desert soon started to show its true colours as the white started to blaze in the after noon sun. It's not the sand which is white but the chalky white rock formations that come in all shapes and sizes, from giant rabbits, to chickens, to mushrooms.
The sun was starting to make its way to the horizon and with us still driving amongst the giant white rocks. Just in time our chef said to pull over and that this will be our camp. We couldn't believe our luck. Not a single other camp in site and right in the heart of the desert. In no time we had our char grilled chicken, rice and vegetable stew scoffed down and sat back to watch the desert sky, from end to end filled with stars.
We awoke in the morning to find the tracks of desert foxes walking right passed our mattresses. Everyone else had been woken by the alien like cries of the foxes, but we didn't even stir. We wish we had seen the little creatures that had ran off with the melon from our dinner the night before.
After breakfast we drove the couple of hours back to Bawiti with a short stop to have a bath at another spring. We had a couple of last hours to enjoy the peaceful oasis before we had to take the 6 hour bus back to Cairo.
We are truly liking Egypt once more.
